AMINE AND MANGA

Saiyuki (幻想魔伝最遊記 Gensōmaden Saiyūki) is a manga series by Kazuya Minekura which was serialized in G-Fantasy from 1997 to 2002. The story is loosely based on the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West (XīyóuJì). In 1999 the Saiyuki OVA by Tokyo Kids was released. A year later it was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot. The Gensomaden Saiyuki: Requiem movie appeared in theaters in Japan in 2001. A sequel to this movie is the Gensomaden Saiyuki: Kibou no zaika OVA, which is actually animation taken from an interactive game

There are two sequels and two prequels to Saiyuki, Saiyuki Reload (最遊記RELOAD), a manga sequel adapted into an anime, and Saiyuki Reload Blast are the sequels while Saiyuki Gaiden and Saiyuki Ibun are the prequels.Saiyuki Reload Gunlock (最遊記RELOAD GUNLOCK), is an anime sequel to Saiyuki Reload. Saiyuki Gaiden had a few chapters adapted into the original anime and in the near future will be having its own OVA adaptation.

Saiyuki is the story of four anti-heroes: the monk Genjyo Sanzo (or just "Sanzo"), the monkey king Son Goku, the half-demon Sha Gojyo, and the man-turned-demon Cho Hakkai (formerly known as Cho Gonou). They have been dispatched by the Sanbutsushin (the Three Aspects of Buddha, who relay the orders of heaven) to travel to India to stop the possible resurrection of the Ox-Demon-King, Gyumaoh. Along the way they are beset by inept assassins, bad weather, and their own tragic personal pasts. Meanwhile, the villains, two unlikely confidants, Gyokumen Koushou (Gyumaoh's concubine, a demon) and a mad scientist, Dr. Nii Jianyi (a human), continue their attempts to restore the long-dead king. These experiments, a forbidden mixture of science and magic, spawn the "Minus Wave", infecting all of the demons in Shangri-La with madness, shattering the fragile peace that once existed between humans and demons.